The phenomenon of picky eating in children has grown to become a serious problem in recent decades. It’s certainly one of the most common (and frustrating) parenting struggles. Speaking of her own son, who won’t touch vegetables, Jennifer Traig writes that the boy’s “pickiness is so extreme that, two years ago, his pediatrician referred us to an occupational therapist to address it. … Sam’s diet at age 7 now consists mainly of things that I know I should be limiting. His staple food is pizza, the one food that works for many children who will only eat one food. The first time Sam ate pizza, it was a where-have-you-been-all-my-life experience, even though its main ingredients—bread, cheese and tomatoes—he will eat in no other form. He will also eat just about any kind of candy, the more revolting, the better, from gummy pimples to chocolate poop to candy snot. But rice makes him gag.” (Traig, 2019)
It’s a story l’m sure many parents can relate with, even if your own child’s eating habits aren’t quite this extreme. How did we get here, and what can be done about it?
Causes of picky eating in children
Prior to the 1900s, picky eating in children was virtually unheard of. In those rare cases where it did arise it was relegated to ultra wealthy households involving children who were pampered and given whatever they wanted. But throughout the rest of the population, children ate what they were given without much fuss, and there’s little evidence they refused food.
The phrase “picky eater” doesn’t even show up until around 1970, which not coincidentally, is shortly after sugary sodas and other junk food items were mass marketed in earnest. Fast forward to today, and it seems like every American household has at least 1 picky eater, and the number of children with severely disordered eating habits has reached crisis levels.
So what causes kids to become picky eaters? A number of factors are at play:
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Junk foods have become more readily available.
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Our lives are more rushed, making processed foods more convenient for busy parents.
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As such, our diets have changed. We’re now consuming more processed ‘junk foods’ than ever before; i.e., foods with high sugar/fat/salt content that were designed in a lab to activate the human reward system.
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Parents are serving their children processed foods and sweets at much earlier ages, training their palate on these while feeding them fewer fruits and vegetables.
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Children are subjected to more mass marketing from food companies, almost all of which promotes unhealthy choices.
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American households are more affluent, at least in terms of food. Essentially, every American household now mimics the abundance of unhealthy food choices once available only to the wealthy.
Yet by far the most influential factor is parenting. Picky eating is becoming more common because A) Parents are eating unhealthy diets themselves, and/or B) They’re coddling and catering to children more than before and allowing their kids to dictate what they eat.
The impact & consequences of picky eating
Picky eating isn’t just a hassle for parents. It has serious consequences for children. The poor diets typical of picky eaters leave them nutritionally deprived. More importantly, the habits kids form (or are allowed to form) in childhood will likely stay with them for the remainder of their lives. So if your kid is rejecting vegetables or living off junk food now, there’s a good chance they’ll carry these dysfunctional habits with them into adulthood.
Picky eaters are likely to become overweight or obese, since they subsist on high fat, high sugar diets. These same diets are also low on nutrients, adversely affecting body and brain development. With obesity come chronic health conditions like diabetes or joint pain. Poor diet is also linked to impaired immune functioning, inflammation, and diseases such as cancer.
To put it bluntly: A child’s picky eating habits aren’t a trivial matter. If uncorrected, this problem has the potential to be more destructive to their future and overall welfare than most of the other things parents worry about.
Additional information on picky eating in children
For more information on picky eating in children, select from the following pages, or get our eBook Picky No More, listed below.
How to cure picky eating habits & get your child to eat healthy food
If you want to put an end to your child’s picky eating habits, or even if you just want your kids to learn to love a wider array of foods so that they don’t fall into this pattern in the first place, you need our eBook Picky No More. It provides a simple formula that will end mealtime hassles and works on even the most stubborn and finicky children. It also includes dozens of creative ways to expand your child’s palate so they learn to enjoy more wholesome foods.
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Picky No More ($4.99 Kindle eBook; all author proceeds from your purchase go to help kids in need) coming soon